Director: Bryan Forbes
Stars: Roger Moore, Rod Steiger and Elliott Gould
Genre: Action | Mystery | Thriller
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 103 Mins
Tagline: "He knows someone is trying to murder him. What he doesn't know can get him killed!"
It is quite amusing what you will find when checking the VHS tape aisle in your local thrift store. That was at least the case for me when I stumbled upon this old videocassette copy of “The Naked Face”. The cover-which appeared to be like James bond-esque adventure, was more than enough at the time to convince me of making this purchase. However, as the old saying goes “never judge a book by its cover” is quite evident here.While this may not be a book, it is still a cover, and I made a bad judgment call…this movie is neither related nor similar in any way to the James Bond film series
The real story of “The Naked Face” is about a Psychiatrist named Dr. Judd Stevens, a dedicated and hardworking man, who is wrongfully accused of murdering one of his patients. This patient is seen early in the film stabbed from behind and falling down a flight of stairs towards a subway entrance; what the audience does not get to see is the individual who actually stabbed him. So, throughout the film we see Dr. Stevens trying to prove his innocence and aid officials in finding the individual who is responsible; and while trying to prove his innocence, the doctor finds himself caught in tangled mess of conspiracies, lies, and betrayal.
Dr. Stevens also intents to to get help from local police and friends who seem of little help in his inocence. More than anything, the police wants him arrested, mafia wants him dead, and friends don’t know how to help. In a sense the guy is helpless and on his own. He does however, have a bargaining piece with the police: a recording session at the doctor’s office with the victim minutes before his death. Nevertheless, the doctor refuses to give this recording due to privacy and confidentiality, which upsets one of the main officers even more. The main cop is played by Rod Steiger, who is better known (at least to me) from the movie Mars Attacks. In this movie, Steiger is mean, loud, and short-tempered-just as he was in Mars Attacks. For me the performance from both principal actors was great, the problem with this movie is the plot…way to convoluted and contrived.
The Naked Face is currently only available in VHS in The U.S. obtaining a copy may be a little difficult outside the internet market. I was lucky to find a copy in a thrift store, but that’s not saying much since the copy I own is in really poor condition. Then again, I wouldn’t recommend owning this film neither on tape nor on DVD (if it ever gets released) but, if you are extremely eager to find it, you can try amazon and eBay for it, I will leave links below. As for the quality of the tape, I must say it has aged poorly; at least that is the case with my copy. The tape is 25+ years old and it shows signs of faded image and damaged audio.
Stars: Roger Moore, Rod Steiger and Elliott Gould
Genre: Action | Mystery | Thriller
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 103 Mins
Tagline: "He knows someone is trying to murder him. What he doesn't know can get him killed!"
It is quite amusing what you will find when checking the VHS tape aisle in your local thrift store. That was at least the case for me when I stumbled upon this old videocassette copy of “The Naked Face”. The cover-which appeared to be like James bond-esque adventure, was more than enough at the time to convince me of making this purchase. However, as the old saying goes “never judge a book by its cover” is quite evident here.While this may not be a book, it is still a cover, and I made a bad judgment call…this movie is neither related nor similar in any way to the James Bond film series
The real story of “The Naked Face” is about a Psychiatrist named Dr. Judd Stevens, a dedicated and hardworking man, who is wrongfully accused of murdering one of his patients. This patient is seen early in the film stabbed from behind and falling down a flight of stairs towards a subway entrance; what the audience does not get to see is the individual who actually stabbed him. So, throughout the film we see Dr. Stevens trying to prove his innocence and aid officials in finding the individual who is responsible; and while trying to prove his innocence, the doctor finds himself caught in tangled mess of conspiracies, lies, and betrayal. 
Dr. Stevens also intents to to get help from local police and friends who seem of little help in his inocence. More than anything, the police wants him arrested, mafia wants him dead, and friends don’t know how to help. In a sense the guy is helpless and on his own. He does however, have a bargaining piece with the police: a recording session at the doctor’s office with the victim minutes before his death. Nevertheless, the doctor refuses to give this recording due to privacy and confidentiality, which upsets one of the main officers even more. The main cop is played by Rod Steiger, who is better known (at least to me) from the movie Mars Attacks. In this movie, Steiger is mean, loud, and short-tempered-just as he was in Mars Attacks. For me the performance from both principal actors was great, the problem with this movie is the plot…way to convoluted and contrived.
While not a horrible movie, it does however fail to provide any real form of suspense. The film took itself way too seriously, too hard to follow, and a pacing slower than a snail- at least for me it was. Another issue that I had was the clarification of the characters, never in the movie do they tell you the motives or the reasons behind the accusations…it’s all flat and uninspiring. Not to mention also that the ending was downright abrupt, no explanation, just a blank ending. Had it not been for that ending and the lack of cohesion, I would be more amicable in giving this film a higher rating. I would personally only recommend this film to Roger Moore enthusiast.
The Naked Face is currently only available in VHS in The U.S. obtaining a copy may be a little difficult outside the internet market. I was lucky to find a copy in a thrift store, but that’s not saying much since the copy I own is in really poor condition. Then again, I wouldn’t recommend owning this film neither on tape nor on DVD (if it ever gets released) but, if you are extremely eager to find it, you can try amazon and eBay for it, I will leave links below. As for the quality of the tape, I must say it has aged poorly; at least that is the case with my copy. The tape is 25+ years old and it shows signs of faded image and damaged audio. 
